Perfect event is perfect chance to help area kids

You’ll have tears in your eyes and the children in North Branch schools will have an advantage.

Sounds kind of strange? David Eichholz, one half of the Dueling Pianos, is a local resident and offers his talent to help NBAEF raise funds for the children in NB schools. File photo

The tears will be of laughter, and you may even be rolling in the aisles at North Branch Area Education Foundation’s (NBAEF) third annual “A Perfect 10” event Sunday, Oct. 7.

The advantage to area children can be found in the NBAEF’s mission, and because of the generosity of volunteers, donors and community members like yourselves.

Being dedicated “to enhancing student opportunities to achieve excellence,” the NBAEF, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization is “dedicated to supporting and enhancing the excellence of North Branch area children and the educational experience.“

Your tax-deductible donations will be used for grants to educators who have extraordinary ideas for enhancing the learning experience. Grants from NBAEF offer teachers an opportunity to take that extra step or bring into the classroom the equipment for learning that otherwise might not be possible.

In the past two years grants from the NBAEF have allowed for the cleaning of microscopes that hadn’t been cleaned in years. It allowed pre-school children to begin their education journey with Smartboards. It helped bring Lego robotic science to middle school children, and the students proudly shared their projects with members of NBAEF one sunny afternoon last spring.

And money raised at last year’s Perfect 10 event put many electronic readers (eReaders) in the district’s media centers for all the students to use.

Since 2011 the NBAEF has awarded grants totaling over $29,000. Additionally, they have banked funds for future use to keep the foundation growing.

Your contributions made it possible to support all these great projects and more so educators in the North Branch district could provide opportunities that might never have been available with tight school budgets.

Now, that’s where the tears and the laughter come in. You can help the NBAEF make that difference in the education of area children by attending the Oct. 7 event or by making a donation to the NBAEF.

Deuces Wild! Dueling Pianos, an amazing pair of professional entertainers, have agreed to highlight the evening once again with their delightful performance.

Eichholz is a North Branch resident and a parent in the NB school system. The community is extremely fortunate to have him and his cohort Ted Manderfeld bring their Las Vegas style show to this fundraising event.

Even if the duo never changed a thing from the past two years, people would still flock to see them because the excitement and electricity generated during their performance is a rare commodity around these parts.

Besides performances of songs that will bring back memories, and the comedy routines that accompany them, the duo gets school staff and members of the NBAEF involved in some of the acts, and even some unsuspecting audience members are gently coaxed on stage.

If you are interested in learning more about NBAEF, or if you’d like to volunteer, or become a sponsor, visit their website: nbaef.org and click on “contact.”

A Perfect 10! will be held at Stars & Strikes in Wyoming Sunday, Oct. 7.

Tickets are $70 ($50 tax deductible). You can register for the event online or buy your tickets at Stearns Bank, County Market, Peoples National Bank or POST-HASTE.

The program includes a social hour at 4 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m. live and silent auctions, and entertainment at 7 p.m. with “Deuces Wild! Dueling Pianos.”